Susan David
Harvard Medical School Psychologist | #1 WSJ Bestselling Author | Thinkers50 | Co-founder, Institute of Coaching | TED Speaker
Ashley Goodall
Leadership & HR Expert | Author of The Problem with Change | Co-Author of Nine Lies About Work | Former SVP at Cisco & Chief Learning Officer at Deloitte
Ashley Goodall is a leadership and HR expert, executive, and author who has spent two decades exploring what makes people thrive inside large organizations. The author of The Problem with Change and co-author, with Marcus Buckingham, of the acclaimed Nine Lies About Work, he draws on years leading HR at Cisco and Deloitte to challenge the cult of constant disruption. On stage, he shows why stability, not endless change, drives human performance.
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Ashley Goodall biography
Leadership speaker Ashley Goodall has spent his career asking a question most organizations overlook: what do people actually need in order to do their best work? A leadership and HR expert, executive, and author, he has explored large organizations from the inside for two decades, and reached a provocative conclusion. The constant change, reorganization, and disruption that leaders pursue with such enthusiasm is often not improvement at all, but a source of stress that quietly undermines the very performance it is meant to create.
Goodall’s insight is grounded in two decades of leading people functions at the highest level. He spent fourteen years at Deloitte, culminating as Chief Learning Officer for Leadership and Professional Development, and later served as Senior Vice President of Leadership and Team Intelligence at Cisco. With Marcus Buckingham, he co-wrote the influential Nine Lies About Work, named the best management book of 2019, and together they authored two landmark Harvard Business Review cover stories, “The Feedback Fallacy” and “Reinventing Performance Management.”
The Problem with Change
In his book The Problem with Change: And the Essential Nature of Human Performance, Goodall makes a compelling, research-based case that constant workplace churn, what he memorably calls “life in the blender”, erodes motivation, belonging, and meaning, and helps explain record-low engagement, quiet quitting, and turnover. The answer, he argues, is not more disruption but more stability: prioritizing team cohesion, using real language instead of corporate-speak, honoring rituals, and fixing only what is truly broken. Originally a musician who studied at Oxford before earning an MBA at Columbia, Goodall often draws on the orchestra as a model for what great teams can be.
As a speaker, Ashley Goodall is thoughtful, articulate, and refreshingly contrarian, giving leaders permission to question the disruption they have come to accept as inevitable. He speaks on human performance and what people need to thrive, leading through change without destabilizing your people, the future of HR and employee experience, and building teams that last. Audiences leave with a fundamentally different, and more humane, understanding of leadership, and practical ways to create the stability in which people, and results, can flourish.
Ashley Goodall Speaking Videos
ELN HIGHLIGHTS: THE PROBLEM WITH CHANGEwith Ashley Goodall
Ashley Goodall
Ashley Goodall Keynote Topics
Drawing on his acclaimed book, Ashley Goodall challenges one of the most unquestioned assumptions in business: that change is always good and that leading change is what good leaders do. He reveals how constant reorganization and disruption, "life in the blender", exact a real psychological toll that undermines motivation, engagement, and results. Audiences leave understanding why change is not the same as improvement, and what leaders can do instead to help their people, and their organizations, thrive.
What do people actually need to do the best work of their lives? Goodall draws on decades of leading HR at Deloitte and Cisco, and on the science of human psychology, to answer that question. He shows that great performance grows not from pressure and perpetual disruption but from stability, belonging, meaning, and trust, and offers leaders practical ways to build the conditions in which people can contribute their very best. A humane, research-grounded rethink of what leadership is really for.
Much of what we believe about work, that people crave feedback, that culture is the key, that we should fix our weaknesses, turns out to be wrong. Drawing on the landmark book he co-wrote with Marcus Buckingham, Goodall walks audiences through the most persistent myths of organizational life, the evidence that debunks them, and the freethinking truths that should replace them. A provocative, liberating session for any leader who suspects standard management practice isn't working.
Goodall argues that the best way to serve an organization is to serve the people in it, and that HR's true purpose is to understand and meet what humans actually need at work. Drawing on his experience leading people functions at two global companies, he offers a practical framework for reestablishing HR as a full-throated advocate for employees and a genuine driver of performance. Essential thinking for HR and business leaders navigating AI, hybrid work, and constant change.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Ashley Goodall
Why Ashley Goodall?
Booking Ashley Goodall brings audiences a rare, credible, and refreshingly contrarian voice on leadership and work. Having led HR at two global companies and co-written one of the most influential management books of recent years, he has the authority to challenge assumptions most leaders never question, and the evidence and practical tools to back it up. His message, that stability and humanity, not endless disruption, are what drive real performance, resonates deeply at a time of record-low engagement and constant change. Thoughtful and genuinely useful, he gives leaders a new lens and concrete next steps. He is ideal for events on leadership, culture, change, HR, and the future of work. To bring Ashley Goodall to your next event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
Who is Ashley Goodall?
Ashley Goodall is a leadership and HR expert, executive, and author who has spent his career exploring large organizations from the inside. He is the author of The Problem with Change: And the Essential Nature of Human Performance and the co-author, with Marcus Buckingham, of Nine Lies About Work, which was named the best management book of 2019. He spent fourteen years at Deloitte, ultimately as Chief Learning Officer for Leadership and Professional Development, and later served as Senior Vice President of Leadership and Team Intelligence at Cisco. Originally from the UK, he holds a BA in Music from Oxford and an MBA from Columbia Business School, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and Forbes.
What is Ashley Goodall's book The Problem with Change about?
The Problem with Change: And the Essential Nature of Human Performance (2024) is Ashley Goodall's book arguing that the constant churn of modern corporate life, mergers, reorgs, new strategies, endless disruption, comes at a steep and often unrecognized human cost. He calls it "life in the blender": a perpetual state of upheaval that erodes people's sense of control, belonging, and meaning, and helps explain low engagement, quiet quitting, and turnover. Change, he argues, is not the same as improvement. Drawing on decades leading HR and on research into human performance, Goodall makes the case that people need stability to do their best work, and shows how leaders can provide it by prioritizing team cohesion, honoring rituals, speaking plainly, and fixing only what is truly broken.
What topics does leadership speaker Ashley Goodall cover?
Ashley Goodall speaks on the problem with change and the power of stability, the essential nature of human performance, rethinking the myths of management (Nine Lies About Work), and reinventing HR and employee experience. His keynotes suit events on leadership, culture, change management, HR, and the future of work. To book Ashley Goodall as a speaker, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
How to book Ashley Goodall as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Ashley Goodall as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Ashley Goodall's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Ashley Goodall or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Ashley Goodall speaking fee?
Ashley Goodall speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Ashley Goodall to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Ashley Goodall.
How can I contact Ashley Goodall?
We only work with Ashley Goodall on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Ashley Goodall and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Ashley Goodall speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Ashley Goodall for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Ashley Goodall for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Ashley Goodall is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Ashley Goodall for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
